The consonant sounds

PRONUNCIATION

DENTALS In a dental consonant, the tip or blade of the

tongue approaches or touches the upper teeth. English [θ] and [ð] are dental fricatives. There are actually a couple of different ways of forming these sounds:

The tongue tip can approach the back of the upper teeth, but not press against them so hard that the airflow is completely blocked.

The blade of the tongue can touch the bottom of the upper teeth, with the tongue tip protruding between the teeth -- still leaving enough space for a turbulent airstream to escape. This kind of [θ] and [ð] is often called interdental.

The diagram to the right shows a typical interdental [θ] or [ð].

ALVEOPALATALS

Alveopalatals are consonants for which the flow of air is stopped or impeded by creating a block or a small aperture between the tongue and the region of the hard palate just behind the alveolar ridge. Alveopalatals may be voiced (vocal cords vibrating during the articulation of the consonant) or voiceless (vocal cords not vibrating during the articulation of the consonant). Here is a list of the alveopalatals in Present-Day English.

1. /c</ (the phoneme spelled ch in chip) 2. /j</ (the phoneme spelled g in gym3. /s</ (the phoneme spelled sh in shore4. /z</ (the phoneme spelled z in azure5. /j/ (the phoneme spelled y in yard

GLOTTAL

The glottis is the opening between the vocal folds. In an [h], this opening is narrow enough to create some turbulence in the airstream flowing past the vocal folds. For this reason, [h] is often classified as a glottal fricative.